


We're Okay

by notthrowingawaymyfanfic



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Angst, Confessions, Fluff, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Mutual Pining, Possible part two, Post Season 3, mentions of injury, stranded in space
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-08-06
Updated: 2017-08-06
Packaged: 2018-12-11 21:00:27
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,633
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11722467
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/notthrowingawaymyfanfic/pseuds/notthrowingawaymyfanfic
Summary: “W - what are you -”“Just shut up for a second and let me tell you something.” He breathed.“Keith -”





	We're Okay

**Author's Note:**

> SEASON 3 SPOILER WARNING
> 
> ok now that's out of the way...
> 
> a varga = roughly an hour (correct me if i'm wrong)

They were stranded. Yep, stranded in the middle of space, and there was only so much more Keith could take of Lance’s strange mixture of both panicking and seeming to reassure himself before his head exploded.

“- what if the others can’t find us? Oh quiznak, what if we don’t make it back to the castle in time? Coran would have to fly Black and then Shiro could take Red… but who would control the castle? Maybe we could find some other alteans in another reality or - or -”

“Lance, be quiet.” Keith huffed, clenching his arm tighter around Lance’s waist. They were wrapped up together, both gripping the other, clinging for support like they were the last people in the universe. 

If Lance asked, Keith would say it was to stop them from drifting away from each other, but he had to admit that even then they were still really close. So close, Keith could feel Lance’s heart beating near his own, even though there were two layers of paladin suits between them. They were certainly closer than that time when Keith and Allura’s pod had exploded and they had to fly back to the castle using only Keith’s jetpack. But the difference between then and now was that their comms had been working, while now they could only hear each other over deadly silence.

“Have you tried calling your lion?” Lance asked. “Maybe he can find us.”

“I’ve tried, but nothing’s working. It’s like there’s some sort of static coming from that planet over there.”

Indeed, they were quite close to a nearby planet. Though not close enough for any serious damage, it seemed to be messing with their long-distance communications.

Lance gripped onto Keith tighter. “Let’s just hope that they can find us first.”

Earlier they had argued back and forth about whether or not it was a bad idea to use their jetpacks to fly back to the castle, but with no idea where it was, Lance had concluded his point with a simple, ‘when lost, it’s best to stay put.’ 

Although Keith had retorted, ‘what if we can find some friendly aliens to help us?’ Lance had struck him down with a quick: ‘and if we run into the galra? Your leg is broken and we’d be overwhelmed in ticks.’

“I still think it would’ve been better to fly to a planet,” Keith said.

“Nope, no way. What if it’s hostile? I can’t fight against an entire army by myself.”

“You could, I believe in you.”

“Believing and achieving are two completely different things, mullet-head. I’m not as good as you are.”

“Lance, be quiet,” Keith said. “You’re the team sharpshooter, I - we need you, more than you could ever imagine. And… I’m sorry. If it weren’t for my leadership, then we wouldn’t be stuck out here in the first place, so I’m worse than you.”

“No, it’s my fault. If I hadn't followed you then you wouldn’t’ve had to come back to save me and we could be back at the castle with the others by now.”

“But I should've called for backup…”

“Okay, how about we both messed up? Does that sound better?” Lance chuckled.

Keith cracked a smile. “Yeah, alright.” Keith’s heart pounded in his ears, the thrum of it tingling his insides, seeming as though it wanted to burst from his chest. Thankfully, it instead rushed blood through his body and spiked a flush in his cheeks. He half-hoped Lance could’ve laughed for a bit longer, half-wished he hadn't in the first place.

“How long have we been here?” Lance asked and Keith resurfaced.

“About five vargas, I think.”

“Only five vargas? Feels like it’s been longer.”

Keith tucked his chin over Lance’s shoulder, drawing him closer. They floated chest to chest, wrapped in each other’s arms like it didn’t matter what happened, just as long they were together. It was like one of those movies Lance talked about. The love stories that always ended in happily-ever-after or whatever. It’s not like Keith paid attention to him, anyway…

But here in the middle of space… well, it was a lot scarier than when they had been on the castle-ship. There was a certain grounding feeling Keith felt there, but out here… there was nothing, like they were suspended above a bottomless pit with no clue what was at the bottom. The idea both thrilled and terrified Keith in very similar ways.

“Oh quiznak, what if we don’t make it back?” Lance whispered. He shifted a little bit - a move Keith wouldn’t’ve noticed if he wasn’t hyper-aware of everything Lance said or did. “What if they don’t find us? What if -”

“Lance, shut up. We have to trust the others.”

“But what if we really do die, then what?” Lance asked.

Keith had had enough. He unwrapped his arms from Lance as he loosened his grip in surprise as they drifted apart. Lance’s eyes widened as they came face to face and Keith grasped Lance’s shoulders. They didn’t have a castle anymore, but that didn’t matter. Keith refused to be grounded by anything other than the force called Lance.

“W - what are you -”

“Just shut up for a second and let me tell you something.” He breathed.

“Keith -”

Keith sighed, eyes sliding shut. His mind was a mess, thoughts bouncing around like a million bouncy balls. He took a deep breath and imagined throwing each one into a large box. At first, some bounced out or missed, but Keith waded through them until they all gravitated towards the box without Keith needing to throw them, all except one. Keith reached out to touch the ball as he opened his eyes.

Lance was suddenly closer, his hands cupping the edges of Keith’s helmet. His eyes were blown wide, lips parted the slightest bit, and if it weren’t for the damned glass of their helmets being in the way, Keith probably would’ve kissed him.

But, no. When you’re stranded in the middle of space with the kick of adrenaline boosting you on and all you want is to let your body language do all the talking, unfortunately it’s not as simple as that. Eventually Keith will have to come out of the shell he had built around himself, shielding himself from the trainwreck in front of him. Because even though Lance grounded Keith, he unearthed him too. 

“Lance, I -”

“No, Keith,” Keith’s gaze snapped away from Lance’s mouth to his eyes. 

Lance closed his eyes, mirroring what Keith had done before. There was something almost angelic in his expression. For a moment it grounded Keith again, until his words sent him flying.

“I don’t want to hear about how much you hate me and you’re just pitying me. I - I don’t want to hear it. How would you feel if your crush told you that they hated you?”

“Your… crush?” 

Lance’s eyes snapped open. Keith watched as his cheeks coloured and his eyes scanned his face. “Cr - crush? Pfft, no, I - I don’t like you, of course not, I mean, you’re Keith! Who - who would like you?”

“Lance… it’s okay. I - I like you too.”

“Oh,” Lance’s eyes locked with Keith’s. Wow, since when had they been this pretty? Okay, Keith was definitely blushing now. “Wait, you do?! Since when?”

“I don’t know.” Keith sighed. He pulled Lance closer to him, their helmets pressing closer. For the second time that day, Keith wished the glass was nonexistent. Lance moved his arms to wrap them around Keith’s sides. “It just… sort of happened, I guess.”

“‘Sort of’? ‘SORT OF’?! You can’t just ‘sort of’ gain feelings for someone, Keith.” Lance sighed, a laugh bubbling from his throat. Keith really wished he could swallow that laugh with his own lips, it was seriously causing him heart damage. Or maybe that was a bad idea. He hadn’t kissed anyone before, so who knew how it would go. Maybe he’d be so terrible that Lance wouldn’t like him anymore…

The fact Lance of all people was the one to like him… 

Now that was a thought which sent Keith’s heart pounding. This must’ve been a dream. Maybe Keith was so delirious because of his broken leg that he had been hallucinating the whole time.

Oh yeah, his broken leg. It probably should’ve hurt more than the idea of it, but Keith wasn’t ready to focus on it yet. Another problem: Lance had grounded him so much that all he could think of was the steady chant of ‘Lance! Lance! Lance!’ in his head.

Keith smiled. “Yeah, well I like you a lot more than I planned… and that’s that…”

They shifted back to their original position. But something was different. They were pressed tighter together, Lance being careful to avoid Keith’s bad leg, Lance holding Keith like he was some kind of lifeline for them, the endless support system that he needed.

“We’re going to die,” Lance whispered. Keith didn’t try to stop him. “We’re really going to die. This is it.”

And then, suddenly, there was a crackle in Keith’s ear.

“-ello? Hello? Can you hear me?”

“Pidge!” Lance cried, his grip on Keith tightening.

“Hello? Lance and Keith, come in?”

“We’re here,” Keith said.

“Roger. We see you.”

They loosened their grips on each other and shifted to float side by side, hands laced together. In the distance, the castle ship grew bigger and bigger. Lance sighed with relief.

“You found us!” Keith could hear the grin in his voice.

Then Hunk was there, promising food and hugs upon their return before Allura took over. “Are you two okay? Are you injured?”

“Keith broke his leg,” Lance said. “But we’re okay.”

He turned towards Keith, the concern in his eyes tugging at Keith’s heartstrings. We’re okay, right?

He nodded. We’re okay.

**Author's Note:**

> i'm debating whether or not to make a part two. should i?


End file.
